Ecto- and endoparasites of common reedbuck, Redunca arundinum, at 2 localities in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa: community and network structure.

ABSTRACT: Parasite community structure is governed by functional traits of hosts and parasites. Notably, parasite populations and communities respond to host social and spatial behaviour. Many studies demonstrating these effects dealt with small-bodied host species, while the influence of host social patterns on parasite communities in large hosts remains understudied. In an earlier study on nyalas (Tragelaphus angasii), host age was more important than sex in structuring helminth communities and networks, but the influence of both was mediated by local environmental conditions, creating different locality patterns. Common reedbuck (Redunca arundinum) differ from nyalas in spatial and social behaviour. Based on helminth and ectoparasite data from 56 reedbuck examined at 2 localities in

SUBMITTER: Junker K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11474021 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature